The education side of a two-front war against synthetic psychoactive designer drugs is taking shape.

Lubbock’s Board of Health on Friday heard its first report on the potential adverse health effects of the synthetic drugs, including synthetic marijuana, that for two months have been the focus of a potential ban by the City Council.

The council tasked the board with researching and developing a way to educate the public on the potential dangers of the drugs as council members pursue the legal side.

“I think the ban can be useful, but the difficulty is going to be in the interpretation of the law and the enforcement of the law,” said Dr. Brian Carr, the board chairman. “So public education is going to be key to the ultimate success.”

Ultimately, Carr said, the board hopes to develop a public information campaign strategy to help raise awareness that the drugs often labeled “not for human consumption” but packaged in shiny, candy-like envelopes can cause long-lasting health problems.

Assistant City Attorney Laura Pratt gave a brief presentation of information compiled by city staff and Health Board members, outlining the potential health effects of the drugs — ranging from headaches to elevated blood pressure, seizures and heart attacks — and what other cities, the state and the federal government have already done to limit their availability.

“The public needs to be aware that these substances are not safe, are not all the same and are not organic or herbal,” Pratt said.

About 70 Texas cities, including Crosbyton and Brownfield, already have ordinances limiting synthetic drugs in one form or another, complimenting a 2011 state law banning such substances as “Spice,” “K2” and specific compounds of other synthetic cannabinoids.

But manufacturers have been able to skirt the laws and ordinances by changing the products’ chemical structure slightly, Pratt said.

A variety of the substances are sold in more than 20 tobacco stores and head shops in Lubbock.

Health Board members and Pratt said part of the synthetic drugs’ danger comes from the public perception they are somehow organic.

“People think of it as produce at Whole Food or at Market Street, that’s what they’re equating this to,” board member Dr. Donald May said. “It’s organic chemistry. It’s not natural.”

Carr said many of the substances are produced overseas, sometimes China, in unsavory environments.

“We’re talking kitchen tables and shovels and not at all the quality control you might think when you look at the slick little packaging,” he said.

Pratt said she’s hopeful the education process can correct the misperception.

In November, the council asked city staff to present options that would have legal teeth, preventing drug sellers from skirting the law by making minor changes to chemical compounds.

The council voted unanimously Dec. 6 to have the Board of Health study the drugs’ impact and educate the public on the health effects of such products.

On Jan. 10, Councilwoman Karen Gibson said she and Councilman Victor Hernandez hope to propose limits or a ban on the sale of currently legal substances at the council’s Jan. 31 meeting, though such an ordinance is still on the drawing board.

The Board of Health on Dec. 21 took its first step toward addressing the issue by appointing a special committee to look into the issue.

Then-board-Chairman Dr. Steve Presley appointed board member Dr. Ted Reid to head the committee, with board members Ollie Thomas Jr., Kae Hentges and Carr assisting in the development.